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Toyota’s partnership with BMW to build a midsize sports car was announced early this year. Aside from the sports car, the two companies will also be working on creating lightweight materials, lithium-air batteries, and fuel-cell systems for a new generation of high-speed, fuel-saving vehicles. The partnership is mutually beneficial—BMW’s forte is coming up with fast cars; Toyota’s is developing fuel cells and hybrid technology. Put them together and you’ll have the supercar of the future. Why the teamup? In addition to meeting mutual goals, the partnership also helps to offset and share manufacturing and product development costs. The technologies needed in developing the innovations are expensive, so partnerships among automotive companies are becoming more common. Another partnership worthy of note is the one between General Motors and Peugeot Citroen, which aims to develop compact models for the European market. Automotive partnerships aren’t new; companies have been teaming up for decades, sharing engines and platforms but being marketed under different badges. Mutual benefits Toyota has not quite fully penetrated the European market yet, and hopes to do so by expanding its lineup of diesel-powered models for the region, with the help of Toyota partnership with BMW. The German company will supply the Japanese with 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter engines for Toyota’s European market vehicles. On their part, Toyota can help guide BMW as the company develops alternative power systems (such as electric powertrains) for their cars. BMW has been planning to introduce its first-ever electric vehicle called the i3 before the year ends. Another model, a plug-in hybrid sports car called the i8, is planned to be launched to the market in 2014. BMW-Toyota sports car The partnership actually started even before December 2011, when BMW announced that it would supply Toyota with a new clean diesel engine. The two companies had already been discussing creating a jointly-developed sports car, and soon feasibility studies were conducted. The chief engineer for the roadster project is the same brain behind the Toyota GT86/Scion FR-S model, Tetsuya Tada. Tada has already been working closely with BMW, visiting the German company’s offices multiple times for the past couple of years to plan, develop, and discuss their sports car project. There are speculations about what the outcome of the Toyota partnership with BMW will be like, considering the technologies that each company will be contributing to the vehicle. For one thing enthusiasts agree that the car won’t likely use Toyota’s 2.0-liter engine being used by the GT86/FR-S; rather, BMW will have to step in with its I-4 engine. The platform of the GT86/FR-S will have to be extensively tweaked and stretched (for more engine options) by the Germans as well. Considering that the car will be bundled with electric motors, it will most probably use atmospheric induction, but it may also be super- and turbocharged as well. It may also have front in-wheel motors, which Toyota has been developing for the GT86. Nothing is final yet, and enthusiasts are excited to see the final product. Stay tuned for more updates on Toyota’s partnership with BMW in this year’s upcoming Tokyo Motor Show.
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